Fratello’s Fantasy Pick: Samuel Dalembert

The 25-24 Milwaukee Bucks have had an up-and-down season to date. Some nights their backcourt of Brandon Jennings and Monta Ellis combined with a mix-and-match frontcourt can look and play outstanding basketball. At other times the Bucks seem to lack talent, and their play borders on ineffectual.

On January 8th, in his fifth season at the helm of the team, veteran coach Scott Skiles and Milwaukee management made a mutual decision to part ways. Between December 1st and the time Skiles left, 11th-year, 6’11” C Samuel Dalembert had 16 games where he never touched the court. Under interim coach Jim Boylan, Dalembert has appeared in the last eight contests. And due to an injured Larry Sanders, Dalembert has even started the past two games.

Over this eight game stretch, the 2001 first round pick has averaged 21 minutes, 11.9 points, 8.6 rebounds and 2.5 blocks while shooting 60% from the field and 87% from the line. Dalembert’s numbers have exploded over the last three games – 19.7 ppg, 11.7 rpg and 3.3 bpg in 28.7 mpg.

Dalembert has been around the league and is considered a good clubhouse guy. In fact, in 2010 he won the NBA’s J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award for his work raising funds and awareness for his homeland of Haiti after the earthquake.

Over four seasons in Philly, from ’06 to ’10, Dalembert played in every single game and started all but two. In the ’07-’08 season he averaged 10.5 ppg, 10.4 rpg and 2.3 bpg in 33.2 mpg. When this veteran gets his run, he has proven that he can produce in all of the big man categories.

For Fantasy GMs looking to bolster their frontcourts, Dalembert’s production appears to be on the rise.